Larry Allen says Dallas Cowboys are close to returning to glory days

Former Dallas Cowboys great Larry Allen called it a great honor and thought about how proud his grandmothers — both from Nacogdoches — would have been. Former Texas football coach Fred Akers described himself as “tickled” to be joining an elite club.

Allen and Akers were among the headliners in the Texas Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2016 and were formally inducted during a ceremony Tuesday evening at the Waco Convention Center.

“It’s great,” said Allen, a 2013 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee. “Growing up I never thought I’d be [a Hall of Famer] and now I’m in two Halls of Fame. It’s a great feeling.”

Added Akers: “I’ll tell you I’m very proud. It’s always something for your family, it’s always something for your children, for people who you can have influence on — I’m talking about players. … I’m really just tickled to death.”

Joining Allen and Akers in the eight-member class were rodeo star Trevor Brazile, former Chicago/St. Louis Cardinals All-Pro lineman Ken Gray, former Texas A&M and NFL All-Pro defensive end Jacob Green, former New York Yankees/Houston Astros pitcher Andy Pettitte, former Texas basketball guard T.J. Ford and former Negro League pitcher “Smokey” Joe Williams (deceased).

Allen, a staple on the Cowboys’ offensive line from 1994-2005, was one of the most dominant tackles in NFL history. He won Super Bowl XXX with the Cowboys in his second season, and joined their Ring of Honor in 2011.

Allen might be best known for being the Cowboys’ best offensive lineman when Emmitt Smith set then-franchise single-season records in yards (1,773) and touchdowns (25) in 1995.

Allen joins several former teammates such as Smith, quarterback Troy Aikman and wide receiver Michael Irvin in the Texas Sports Hall of Fame, along with other prominent players in the organization’s storied history.

“It’s great to just be in the company of them,” Allen said.

“I just think they had a lot of bad injuries this year,” said Allen, who tries to go to as many home games as possible. “I think that was their main problem.”

Akers, meanwhile, has been one of the more under-appreciated college coaches. He had a solid 10-year run at Texas as Darrell Royal’s successor, averaging more than eight victories a year, getting the Longhorns to within one victory of the national title in 1977 and 1983 and moving Earl Campbell from fullback to tailback in 1977, which led to Campbell’s Heisman Trophy season.

Akers spent 19 seasons in all with Texas — 10 as the head coach (1977-86) and nine seasons as an assistant under Royal (1966-74). Akers coached two years at Wyoming before taking over the Longhorns’ program.

“Well, we had some good moments and some bad,” the 77-year-old Akers said of his tenure at Texas. “More good ones, thank goodness. We had 86 of them wins and those guys really ran their butts off. They fought.”

The entire class had plenty of credentials that made them worthy of the honor.

Brazile has won a record 23 world championships, including 13 all-around titles; Pettitte has five World Series rings and has more postseason wins than any pitcher in history; Ford helped Texas reach the Final Four in 2002-03. The list goes on.

“Anytime you have a Hall of Fame attached to something, it’s a great honor,” said Pettitte, who played high school baseball at Deer Park and pitched professionally for the Astros from 2004-06.

“Texas sports, the history here in this state is incredible and it’s special. It really is. I’ve had a lot of special things come across since I retired … to be able to have this is just another thing and just feel very fortunate and blessed.”

This story was originally published February 2, 2016 at 6:31 PM with the headline "Larry Allen says Dallas Cowboys are close to returning to glory days."